Blogs at Worldwatch

Each blog features regular contributions from Worldwatch researchers and outside experts on the global issues that the Institute tracks, from climate change negotiations to how to feed a growing population. We invite you to engage our bloggers in dialogue on the latest news and developments in their respective research areas.

Erik Assadourian, co-director of State of the World 2013 and creator of the reality TV show Yardfarmers sat down with Cullen Pope, editor of EATT Magazine, a few weeks back for an interview. We wanted to repost the interview here as Erik offers some insights into his strategy to get us to a more sustainable, …...

The waste sector permeates almost every aspect of our society, and its mismanagement can lead to serious problems. Worldwide, we generated 1.3 billion tons of waste in 2012, which accounted for about 5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This volume is project to rise to 2.2 billion tons by 2025, with most of the …...

This article was originally posted in Worldwatch’s Is Sustainability Still Possible? blog. The United States is home to 85.8 million cats and 77.8 million dogs. They all have to eat. And that’s a problem–particularly when owners decide to feed their pets as if they were people. The environmental impact of pet food is big, although …...

Endowed with natural and cultural attractions, Ethiopia has set its sights to be one of Africa’s top tourist destinations. In recent years, it has crafted an innovative sustainable approach to its tourism sector as a means to promote conservation and create job opportunities for its burgeoning...

Misconceptions about climate-induced migration could lead to inadequate support for affected populations. Between 2008 and 2013, some 140 million people were displaced by weather-related disasters; meanwhile, gradual displacements, such as those caused by droughts or sea-level rise, affected the lives of countless others. These “climate refugees” have become the human face of...

Climate change has been a constant reality for many Filipinos, with impacts ranging from extreme weather events to periodic droughts and food scarcity. The most affected populations are coastal residents and rural communities that lack proper disaster preparedness.Tacloban City after Typhoon Haiyan. Credit: The Guardian
According to the Center for Global Development, the...

One of the biggest challenges with using renewable energy for electricity generation—specifically wind and solar power—is intermittency. The wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine. Affordable, reliable, and deployable storage is seen as the holy grail of renewable energy integration, and recent advances in storage technology are getting closer to finding it.
The current electricity grid has virtually no storage—pumped hydropower is the most...

While many participants had hoped for a rocking performance by negotiators, they left still straining to hear the sounds of success.
The most recent round of the United Nations climate change negotiations began early the morning of November 11. After a marathon final session that lasted more than 24 hours, talks concluded at nearly 9 p.m. on Saturday the 23rd. This dramatic finish has become an almost yearly...

I arrived in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, five weeks ago. In the days prior, I had read up on this southwestern African country and its tourist sites, learned about the wildlife conservation successes it has achieved since independence in 1990, and was even reminded that this was where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie chose to give birth to their first child. But on my first night here, I was confronted with a different side of Namibia that isn’t making as many headlines...

Over the past twenty years, climate negotiations have been dominated by concerns that addressing global warming is anti-business and onerous to future development. The insufficient progress we have made at the last 18 COPs towards ‘preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system,’ the ultimate goal of the UN Climate Convention, is a consequence of this – and the summit currently underway in Warsaw is not exactly on course to make a change. Working in many...

The global agricultural population—defined as individuals dependent on agriculture, hunting, fishing, and forestry for their livelihood—accounted for over 37 percent of the world’s total population in 2011, the most recent year for which data are available. This is a decrease of 12 percent from 1980, when the world’s agricultural and nonagricultural populations were roughly the same size. Although the agricultural population shrunk as a share of total population between...

By Andrew Alesbury
Inadequate management of human waste is a dire problem in much of the developing world. Swelling urban populations can make matters worse by exposing increasingly dense populations to illnesses carried by human waste. Some, however, are making good use of the surplus sewage. Rather than allow the urine and fecal matter to lie fallow, some have...

By Brandon Pierce
Animal health services for livestock owners in several parts of sub-Saharan Africa are limited because of poor infrastructure and high delivery costs. To address this deficiency, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has supported the training and use of Community Animal Health Workers (CAHWs) in these regions. CAHWs are community members who have been trained in basic animal...

By Sophie Wenzlau
“We have lost one of the world’s passionate defenders of the right to food,” said UN Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva, upon learning of the death of Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa....

Erik Assadourian, co-director of State of the World 2013 and creator of the reality TV show Yardfarmers sat down with Cullen Pope, editor of EATT Magazine, a few weeks back for an interview. We wanted to repost the interview here as Erik offers some insights into his strategy to get us to a more sustainable, more resilient future. ...

One fed, 85,799,000 to go.
The United States is home to 85.8 million cats and 77.8 million dogs. They all have to eat. And that’s a problem–particularly when owners decide to feed their pets as if they were people.
The environmental impact of pet food is big, although no one knows just how big. Like the rest of us, dogs and...

Two California artists are creating public sculptures that heal damaged ecosystems and eventually disappear back into nature.
One of the large “peapod” shaped structures the artists built to help restore the riparian zone of the Truckee River (by Mary O’Brien)
Daniel McCormick and Mary O’Brien have received plenty of accolades for their public sculptures over the years. But the review they like best? The turtle scat that they discovered each...

Arcadia Mobile Market tackles food insecurity in Washington, D.C., by driving the grocery store around. Is food security just a school bus away?Arcadia’s Mobile Market selling produce in LeDroit Park in Washington, DC. Photo (CC): Tegan Gregory
Four years ago, D.C. Restaurateur of the Year and co-owner of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group Michael Babin solved a...